Fancy Jello Salad…Strawberry Pretzel Salad

November 4, 2021 165 Comments

4 Nov

Fancy Jello Salad…Strawberry Pretzel Salad has been called retro. However, this recipe had been around for several decades and never seems to go out of style.

I originally wrote this during the summer for a summer holiday meal. Truth is, we always have it for Thanksgiving! Yes, Thanksgiving! It’s a salty sweet dish. Salty for the pretzels, sweet for the cream cheese and jello layer. Yum!

Don’t forget making this for summer time too!

We all know the meal is an integral part of happy occasions. We have some dishes our family serves at certain holidays. Strawberry Pretzel Salad is one of those.

Is it really a salad you maybe asking. Yes, this is a salad. Some folks claim it as a dessert. Hey, I’m from the south and we claim jello as a salad. This one is a fancy jello salad. It does not go on the dessert table. Honestly, I have never seen it served as a dessert. I have seen grown men and women fight over the last square but not for dessert.

Here’s the rule for jello. Add some fruit before the jello sets; it’s a salad.

Add some whipped cream and it’s a dessert.

One thing we southerners can do is make great food especially desserts. We can laugh too at our ways including making jello salad.

It is a seasonal dish for summertime; sweet fresh strawberries with crushed pretzel crust and a cream chesse layer.

It’s a meal for Thanksgiving. It’s delicious and adds color to the buffet table.

Last year Amy and Meg set the menu with strawberry pretzel salad along with Rosemary’s Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. Check her recipe out; it is very, very good.

Grandpa’s Hash Brown Potato Casserole is another favorite.

I’ll add green salad with some arugula and spinach from the garden. Grilling steaks was the main dish. Sounds good for this year too!

One thing we southerners can do it make great food especially desserts and laugh at our ways including making jello salad. We serve it during the summer with fresh strawberries and on Thanksgiving too.

I kind of panicked one year when we were back in the states over Thanksgiving. Will ‘s only request was Strawberry Pretzel Salad and I couldn’t find my recipe! Frankly, after all the moves, I have lost a few. My cousin, Rosemary came to my rescue. Whew!

Our daughter in law Jessica was assigned the job of making THE Strawberry Pretzel Salad. It ranks right up there on importance to serve with pies. Later she told us she was really feeling the pressure. She’s a great cook so I wasn’t worried at all; it was delicious!

This is no fail IF you get it in the fridge early enough! Jello not set right is sloppy and messy. Trust me, I know.

Jessica earned herself the position of Strawberry Pretzel Salad maker. Jessica, along with my daughter, Nancy make our pies. See Jessica’s Apple Pie here.

Linda

Rosemary Pretzel Salad

3.15 from 135 votes

Strawberries, jello, pretzel crust and creamy layers for special events

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 20

Servings: 12 -16

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Southern American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

Use 9x13 casserole dish
Crust
2 - 2 ½ C crushed but not super fine pretzels
1 ½ sticks margarine or butter melted
2 T sugar
Filling
8 oz fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip thawed
1 C sugar
8 oz cream cheese room temp
Topping
1 lg or 2 sm strawberry jello
2 C boiling water
2 - 10 pkg frozen strawberries or 16 oz coarsely chopped fresh strawberries

Method

Crust
Crush pretzels into small pieces
Melt margerine or butter
Mix all ingredients together using a fork
Pat into 9 x 13 dish
Bake 8-10 min @ 375
Cool completely
Filling
Beat cream cheese and sugar til fluffy
Fold in cool whip or whipped cream
Spread onto cooled crust
Put in refridgerator while making strawberry jello topping
Topping
Dissolve jello in boiling water according to package directions
Add strawberries
Stir until strawberries are thawed and jello begins to congeal
If using fresh, stir well smashing a few strawberries
Pour evenly over chilled creamy filling
Refrigerate for appx 4 hours
Cut with sharp knife prior to serving

A perfect menu to make to start the summer! A perfect dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu! What are your classic Thanksgiving and other seasonal menus?